Humboldt, Alexander von (1769–1859)

Alexander von humboldt (1769–1859), a prussian naturalist and explorer, is one of the founders of modern geography and meteorology. He was born Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt in Berlin, Germany on September 14, 1769 as the youngest of two sons of a Prussian army officer and his wife, Elizabeth de Colomb. He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother. Humboldt's mother decided to train him for an administrative post in the civil service. It seemed like a good choice for a boy who was often ill and did not learn easily. Humboldt, however, wanted to enter the army. He did not become interested in the sciences until he was 16 and he wound up almost entirely ...